Gyro-bike Is the Ultimate Cool Gadget
By Phil Tang
At the Maker Faire Bay Area, home of many passionate Makers' of all kinds, I saw a kids' bike oh so slowly rolling itself toward me. Why wasn't it falling over? Then I realized that there was a gyroscope inside the front wheel! It helped the whole bike resist falling over. Boy, I could have prevented many a scraped knee if I have had a cool bicycle like this when I was learning to ride a two-wheeler. Called the Gyrowheel, this ride was designed by four Dartmouth students who sought out to add stability to bikes at low speeds. One of their gyro-bikes can keep your child's bike upright and centered under his or her weight. It can balance the bike even at ridiculously low speeds. Kids of the future will have it easy. Does this mean no more training wheels? There are even three different stability settings so that your child doesn't become dependent on the wheel!
The design was remarkably simple and this product will soon be available for sale. According to the makers, you just have to remove the existing wheel and replace it. It'll be released later this year in 12" and 16" sizes for less than a hundred bucks...
I think my parents spent that much on antibiotic and Band-Aids alone! What's more, they're hoping to have an adult-sized one at some point, but I'm not sure I would want to share the road with an adult who still hasn't mastered riding a bicycle!
The patents for this product were acquired by jyrobike, who will be launching a new range of products.
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